The Queen and Duke of Cambridge had earlier met volunteers, residents and community representatives during a visit to the Westway Sports Centre.

She also visited some of those injured in hospital following the bomb at Manchester Arena little under a month ago.

In an unprecedented statement, the Queen said she had been “profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need”.

“Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity,” she said.

“United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss.”

A rallying cry for unity

By Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent

Media captionThe Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh lead a minute’s silence at the Trooping the Colour parade

In a long reign, the Queen has issued countless statements. They can sometimes be formulaic and lack the ability to resonate.

This is not one of them.

After the attacks in Manchester and London, the Queen – and more importantly her senior advisers – have grasped quickly that the reaction to the Grenfell Tower fire has not just been one of shock and grief.

There’s also intense anger. It has been focused on the divide between rich and poor and it has been directed at an establishment that includes the monarchy, though the institution itself has not been the subject of criticism.

In such circumstances, as Head of Nation – a focal point at times of tragedy – the Queen has decided she cannot remain silent.

She, and those around her, will be acutely aware of the potential for growing disquiet in the days ahead.

And so, a 91-year-old monarch with little concrete power but considerable patronage and status, has decided to act.

This is a regal rallying call for unity.

The fire broke out at the 24-storey block, which contained 120 one and two-bedroom flats, shortly before 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

It tore through all floors of the building and took more than 200 firefighters 24 hours to bring it under control.

Cladding installed on the tower during a refurbishment in 2015 had a polyethylene – or plastic – core instead of an even more fireproof alternative, the BBC’s Newsnight understands.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said that cladding made up of aluminium panels over a polyethylene core “would be non-compliant with current Building Regulations guidance” and should not be used on buildings taller than 18m.

It said it could not comment on the type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower. That would be subject to investigations, it said.

Media captionTheresa May says £5m will be available for survivors, and the cause of the Kensington fire is being looked at

The £5m Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund includes the aim to re-house residents within three weeks as close to where they lived before as possible, to pay for temporary housing in the meantime and to provide extra financial assistance.

On Friday night, hundreds of mourners stood arm in arm at a vigil and held a two-minute silence for victims of the fire.

Many wept openly as candles illuminated the road outside the Latymer Christian Centre, yards from the site of the blaze.

Image copyrightPA

Image caption
A vigil has been set up near to the site of the disaster

It came after emergency services spent a third day searching for bodies in the burnt-out tower in North Kensington.

In latest developments:

A minute’s silence was observed by the Queen at the Trooping the Colour parade to remember the victims

Mrs May’s new taskforce, made up of central government and Kensington and Chelsea council representatives, is due to meet

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, is leading an adoration and mass in memory of the victims at St Pius X Church

The Circle line and Hammersmith and City underground lines, which run close to the tower, are partly suspended at the request of fire chiefs following a “short-term risk of some debris falling onto the tracks”